Town approves $90,000 contingency transfer for town hall power backup

On March 5, Environmental Services Director David Jenkins traced the need and logistics of adding a generator for electrical service backup for town hall. Photos/Roger Bianchini

FRONT ROYAL – Front Royal’s Town Hall will be refitted to accommodate a back-up power generator in the wake of a budget transfer authorized Monday night, March 12. The vote to approve the $90,000 transfer from General Fund contingencies was 4-1, Morrison dissenting, Connolly absent, on a motion by Eugene Tewalt, seconded by William Sealock.

The approval of an unanticipated expenditure came in the wake of a March 5 work session presentation by Environmental Services Director David Jenkins following a power outage at town hall during the late February wind storm that moved through the region and a good portion of the mid-Atlantic and northeastern United States. Jenkins and Town Manager Joe Waltz explained that because all town government communications are funneled through the town hall system, when the power goes out there, not only are administrative communications cut off, but also all town police communications, including fiber optic transmissions related to body cameras and intra-departmental communications.

“All phone lines come in here – this is our connectivity to the world … when we lose power to this building, all (town) communications go out,” Waltz said in response to a question from Councilman Jacob Meza about the necessity of the expenditure. Meza had noted one line item in construction of the new town police headquarters was about $300,000 for a generator there.

Noting what he called an oversight when the town government moved into the old bank building converted into town hall, Waltz observed that five years had gone by before that oversight had caught up with town governmental functions. But he added that, that oversight had taught a valuable lesson – that the town didn’t want to have all its communications “eggs in one basket and put all connectivity in one location.”

With the double backup system in place were there to be the type of emergency that could knock one location’s power and backup system out, as long as the other location had at least generator power the town and its police would maintain communications capabilities internally and with the outside world.

Consequently, as Waltz and Jenkins explained to council, having explored all options it was decided that “a one location solution was not feasible.”

That explanation of the two location solution, re-stated by the town manager prior to the Monday vote, worked for all but one of the councilmen present.

At the work session Jenkins traced the logistics of installation. While there was some council concern expressed about losing parking space in the lot behind town hall, staff and Mayor Tharpe indicated a space used for a town vehicle should suffice; and that an alternate space for that vehicle could easily be found.

On March 5, Jacob Meza sought and got answers on the necessity for backup generators at both town hall and the new police headquarters.